“I am humbled and honoured to be the 54th Chair of the Surrey Board of Trade during the 100th year of Surrey’s business organization,” Dooley stated Tuesday.

“I follow in the footsteps of many amazing leaders, most recently Dr. Greg Thomas. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to roll up my sleeves with my fellow board directors to support and further the needs and interests of the business community in Surrey.”

Dooley became the second executive director of Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus in November 2013, and has been involved in the Surrey community for more than 20 years.

With SBOT, the role of board chair serves as chief governance officer, “to ensure that the Board of Directors have a visionary future of not only the organization but also for city building initiatives in Surrey,” according to a release.

“I’ve known Steve for more than 15 years,” stated Anita Huberman, the organization’s CEO. “I welcome him to the role of Board Chair as we continue our leadership-oriented city-building advocacy and projects as we prepare to be the largest city in British Columbia. The Surrey Board of Trade has a responsibility and accountability to ensure that Surrey receives the infrastructure investments that the city needs to ensure a sustainable, thriving and livable city for our businesses and their employees.”

As SFU Surrey campus director, Dooley sits on a number of community partnership tables and has been co-chair of the City of Surrey Social Innovation Summit. He also chairs the Surrey Board of Trade’s Youth Entrepreneur Team.

“Steve remains active in community-based research projects and is the lead for a recent study of refugee settlement and integration with the City of Surrey,” according to the SBOT release.